Catcher&#39;s mask.



I 011;. Y'OUNGGREN.

'GATCHERS MASK. v

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1912.

Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH (IO-.WASHINGTON. D c.

tuition sra'rrs PATENT orrior.

a ses YQ G EN 1 1 LI INQ1 seq-crew MAsK-v To all whom it may concern acitizen of the United States, residing at Kewanee, in the county ofHenry State of 1 eif s fie l tt r fe et- App ica on re d Au i $t' 6:19l2- Illinois, have invented certain new and use-- ful Improvements inCatchers Masks; and Q I do hereby declare, the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame. Y I

This lnvention relates to lmprovements in baseball masks, and hasparticular 'referw ence to a catchers mask.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novelform ofcatchers mask which may be quickly thrown from the front of the face sothat the catcher may have his view unobstructed when trying to catchfoul flies.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription and with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.T

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective the usual form, said framehaving the rearwardly extending loops 11, for attachment of the usualpadding and a loop 11 for the head strap 12. The lower portion of theframe has the outwardly projecting lower cage portion 13, of the usualconstruction. The usual mask for this purpose is divided into'upper andlower cage portions on each side of the frame and just above the lowercage portion is secured the plate 14, carrying a pivot pin 15. Pivotallymounted on these pins is an upper cage section 16, which extendsforwardly and covers the upper portion of the face of. the wearer and isof slightly greater size than the lower cage portion so that when itswings downwardly it will easily fit around the said lower cage portion.Pivotally mounted on either side of the frame according towhether thecatcher is right or left-handed is the latch ret s ed p 11 1 v v member17, having an operating stem 18, Be it known that I, ()SOAR A.YonNoonnN, j

wardly from..the frame.- A leaf spring 19 secured on the frame 10engages the operprojectirrg downwardly and slightly outating stem andforces thesame normally outward so that its upper inwardly extending end20 will engageunder the lower edge of theupper cage section and normallysup.-

port the same in upwardu elevated position.

the pivot pin on the side of the frame opposite to tljiat whiclrcarriesthe latch 17 ;is mounted a coiled spring 21, one end of which isattached to the framelO, and the other end of which. bears against theupper cage section, so that the normal tendency would be to move thesection downwardly on its pivot.

In the use of the ordinary catchers mask, when the catcher makes anattempt to catch a high foul fly,'he usually throws both hands to thesides of the mask to remove the same, so that he may have a clear upwardview at the ball. Ihis, and the readjusting of the mask in a comfortableposition consumes considerable time as it is almost imposible, afteronce removing the mask to place the same again on the head in the axactspot where it was at first.

In the operation of my mask, I take advantage of the fact that a catcherthrows up his hands in the manner of removing the mask. When the handengages against the operating stem of the pivoted latch, the same willbe rocked on its pivot, so that the int-urned upward end will bewithdrawn from under the edge of the pivoted section of the mask. Whenso released, the coiled spring imparts the initial movement to thepivoted section, gravity completing the movement so that the sectionuncovers the upper half of the mask and permits the catcher to have aclear and unobstructed view; To place the mask in condition to wardlyprojected upward end will be out of the path of the edge of the frame ofthe upper section, until the section has been raised far enough topermit its lower edge to rest on the inwardly, projected end of thelatch. In this way it will be seen that the mask does not have to beremoved from the head, but remains in the comfortable position in whichit was adjusted when first applied, the annoyance of taking off andputting on the mask being obviated as well as the disagreeable featureof the mask getting dirty when thrown to the ground and having this dirtwiped on to the face when the mask is again put on.

What is claimed is:

1. In a base ball catchers mask, a frame an upper movable section and alower rigid section, and manually operated means for releasing the uppersection to permit the same to drop over the lower section.

2. In a base ball catchers mask, a frame upper and lower openworksections on the frame, the lower section being slightly smaller than theupper section, the upper section being pivoted to the frame, springsconnected to the upper section and to the frame and having a tendency tomove the upper section from normal position, and means on the frame forreleasing the upper section, whereby the upper section of the mask willbe permitted to drop over the lower section.

3. A base ball catchers mask having a movable upper section, means forholding the movable section in elevated position, means for releasingthe holding means to permit the section to fall, and means for impartingan initial movement to the said section.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of two witneses.

- OSCARA. YOUNGGREN.

Witnesses:

ROBERT C. MORSE, MARJORIE NoKEs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, G.

